AUSTEN… AGAIN

So here we are, new year and old authors revisited. I was surprised to see we open 2014 with a new film revisiting Jane Austen. I don't know whether it will polish or bust the myth, it looks more like the second to me, sorry. 

The film is based on a novel by Shannon Hale (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Hess) and is officially described on the author's site as follows: Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of "Pride & Prejudice," is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?Russell will play the part of Jane with Feild playing a Darcy-impersonator who works for the resort.

On the bright side, the movie has brought back a lot of discussion about Jane Austen and her novels, which makes me really happy.

And you, austenite or not? Will you watch the movie?

JANE AUSTEN STAMPS

Dear Austenites,

The Royal Mail is joining the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice with the release of a series of stamps featuring all six of Jane Austen's novels.

For once, my favourite will not be Pride and Prejudice, but Sense and Sensibility.

You can see the whole collection here.

WHAT DID YOU READ OVER THE CHRISTMAS BREAK?

Let's get intimate and share our December reads and a short opinion. Come on! It will take no more than 5 minutes. Here goes my list:

In English (first, as usual):

- Smut - two short stories by A. Bennett, who we'll be reading shortly. These stories are rather different from The Uncommon Reader, but they preserve his wittiness and irony while exploring the topic of sexuality, hidden character, and deceptiveness. VERY EASY TO READ and it's in our library in Ribeira.

- Bits and pieces of other T.Williams's plays like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie and Suddenly Last Summer, because reading A Streetcar again made me want to re-read the parts I had underlined about 9 years ago.

- Jane Austen Made Me Do It - short stories as well (see older post).

In Galician:

- Cincuenta asasinatos breves e un prólogo. I strongly recommend it! It's really easy and quick to read (short stories) and some of them really ironic and with that Galician realism that is a part of our everyday lives. "Os visitantes" and "Domingo de parricidio" are especially good. They reminded me of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected.

- Amor en feminino. Antoloxía das poetas galegas. There had to be some poetry, you know that!

In Spanish:

- La mano de Fátima. I had read La catedral del mar previously so I've been wanting to read this for a long time. I enjoyed it but I'm also a little tired of the way Falcones really "tortures" his characters. Have you read it? Do you agree? What do you think?

- Asesinos sin rostro, by Henning Mankell. It's the third book I read by him and I didn't particularly enjoy it, especially the way he hurriedly solves the mystery at the end.

UPDATES FOR AUSTENITES

Ana is right, Jane Austen is quoted a lot in this blog... And I have to say December was my month to "revisit" Jane. I was watching a TV miniseries, Lost in Austen, which may be sappy but it also gives us a different outlook on our favourite characters from Pride and Prejudice. And also I was not at all disappointed to see a different Mr Darcy emerging out of the fountain at Pemberley. Not bad at all.

And then I incidentally got a hold of Jane Austen Made Me Do It, a collection of short stories which I'm reading at the moment. As soon as I'm done anyone who'd like to read it is more than welcome to read it. I'm attaching Amazon's review below:

"An anthology of 22 original short stories inspired by Jane Austen, literature's witty muse of the modern novel and astute observer of human nature and the heart, with contributions from Adriana Trigiani, Karen Joy Fowler, Lauren Willig, and other bestselling and beloved authors. Indisputably one of history's most cherished and widely read writers, Jane Austen has had an incomparable influence on contemporary fiction, inspiring countless bestselling sequels and spin-offs. This engaging collection of completely original short fiction pays homage both to the great Jane as well as to the wonderful stories she helped to create, featuring new Austen-esque fiction such as "A Night at Northanger," by Lauren Willig; "Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane," by Adriana Trigiani; "Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss," by Jo Beverley; "Jane Austen's Cat," by Diana Birchall; and many more.

Siri Hustvedt on Jane Austen

Happy holidays clubbers!!

For Austenites (lovers of Jane Austen’s work) and for all those who are reading THE SUMMER WITHOUT MEN, here goes a “Christmas present”: a video where Siri Hustvedt reflects on Jane Austen’s work and its importance today.
(I’ve just noticed Jane Austen is the author we’ve mentioned the most here…!).
Enjoy your watching (and your readings):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytoCUi8sYn8